Chemotherapy delivered directly into the abdomen significantly improves survival among women with advanced ovarian cancer, a new study finds.

However, fewer than half of U.S. patients who could benefit from this treatment -— called intraperitoneal chemotherapy — are receiving it, according to Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center researchers.

According to the study, 81 percent of women who received the dual therapy were alive three years after treatment, compared with 71 percent of those who received IV chemotherapy alone.

Yet only 41 percent of the patients who were deemed to be suitable candidates actually received the dual therapy, the team reported.

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.